Schools in Construction Lurch / A Building Disruption For Schools / New priorities put projects in limbo

Elizabeth Bell, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published
4:00 am PST, Monday, December 25, 2000

A handful of Bay Area school districts have been left in the lurch -- some with backhoes ready to dig in -- as the board that divvies up state school bond money has changed the rules for who gets construction funding.

Under a new priority system for spending what's left of a $9.2 billion state school bond passed in 1998, money for new construction will be given to schools with the worst overcrowding, instead of on a first-come, first-served basis.

The decision last week by the state allocation board helped settle a lawsuit filed last March by a coalition of Los Angeles parents and later joined by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

To get in line for money, schools have to have their land in hand, environmental testing complete, and state-approved plans.

Los Angeles advocates argued they were unable to compete with smaller suburban districts in submitting their applications for bond money because districts in urban settings have a harder time finding suitable school sites and have more environmental hurdles to overcome.

They worried the $1.3 billion that's left from the bond will be gone by the time Los Angeles manages to get in line.

But school districts like Dixon Unified, on the edge of Solano County, and East Side Union High School District in San Jose, were counting on getting money this fall based on the old rules. They had their land selected, environmental approvals and school designs in hand, and were at the top of the list of schools to receive funding.

Now,they don't know if they'll get money at all.

The East Side Union High School District, which serves 24,000 students, has already started grading the land and would be ready to pour foundations this spring for a new high school. Now,the district doesn't know whether it will get the $20 million it had requested from the state.

"If in fact that new system is as advertised and Los Angeles Unified steps up to the plate, that could soak up a very significant sum of money," said East Side Union Deputy Superintendent Bill Kugler.

The district has spent so much money on the new school already and come so far, Kugler said, it would be foolhardy to stop the project now. They'll proceed, he said, and if they don't end up getting state money, they'll have to make harsh cuts elsewhere in their budget or ask local voters to pass another bond to cover the state's half.

Dixon school leaders also feel the rules have been changed just as they completed plans. The 3,500-student district was ready to build a new elementary school and was expecting funding this fall. Officials were going to go out to bid now and start construction in April.

Now, the project is on hold.

"We've told our community all along to look forward to this school," said Dixon Superintendent Wally Holbrock. "We actually have people who have purchased homes in the area with the expectation the school will be built, and that puts us in a real tough position as far as credibility goes."

Brentwood Unified, located in booming east Contra Costa County, was also counting on funding this fall so it could start a building a new elementary school in May. The district is averaging 10 percent growth a year and can't afford to get behind schedule in building new schools, said Superintendent Doug Adams.

San Francisco and Oakland school officials say while their districts will not immediately be hurt by the decision, they believe it will ultimately put them at a disadvantage. San Francisco schools are actually experiencing declining enrollment, so the district will have a harder time competing against growing school districts.

Under the new system, school districts will get points based on a formula that balances both the raw number and the percentage of students that exceed a district's designed capacity.

Close to 80 school districts have joined a lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Adequate School Housing to return to the old first-come, first-served system.

Under the new system, the state will give out about $120 million quarterly and save $450 million to give in June 2002, allowing time for urban schools to file their applications.

Attorney Tom Duffy, representing the Coalition for Adequate School Housing, says districts that need schools now and are ready to build now are losing out.

But attorney Stephen English, who represented parents in the Los Angeles lawsuit, believes the system will serve California children better because those schools with the greatest overcrowding will get money first.

He says under the previous system, urban districts that may have the greatest need lose out because it often takes them longer to file applications than their suburban counterparts.

While suburban districts may build on undeveloped fields, urban districts have little to no undeveloped land to choose from. When they do opt for a piece of land, he says, they may have to undergo more lengthy environmental review because of pollution caused by previous inhabitants.

English disputes Chaconas' assessment and believes other urban districts will also benefit under the new system.